Apex Apiaries Takes Flight

I briefly mentioned the other day that in partnership with a local beekeeper I’m launching a new beekeeping side-venture.

We’re focusing primarily on a couple of core deficiencies that we both see in modern beekeeping

First, if you’re not in a beekeeping mecca, it can be pretty hard to find good education in beekeeping. Not only that, but most kids aren’t really brought up knowing anything about bees, and aren’t taught much about them in school.

Second, in many areas it can be hard to find local bees. Most beekeepers have to buy bees that are trucked in from out of state, usually from a warm location. Plenty of them available, but they aren’t going to be adapted to your climate so they won’t do quite as well.

Third, much of beekeeping is surrounded with dogmatic practices. Many beekeepers are set in their ways, and many folks who are new to bees grab onto those practices and move forward with them. The problem is that beekeeping has changed tremendously over the last few decades. Varroa mites, tracheal mites, and small hive beetles are just a few problems that plague today’s hives. And that doesn’t even begin to cover the issue of Colony Collapse Disorder. There are a few folks out there who have done some decent research, and quite a few with good hands on experiences in dealing with todays problems, but most of the formal studies point to old standby practices as best. We aim to change that.

We’ve written up a page about what we’re doing, and if you’d like to hear more, feel free to click on over to Apex Apiaries and check it out. While you’re there, if you’re on Facebook, please click the ‘Like’ button!

You’ll note that we’re doing a Kickstarter type fundraiser. While we’re putting in a couple thousand of our own to get these projects up and off the ground from scratch, it takes more to do what we really want to do, so we’re trying the whole crowd funding thing.

If this is something you’re in to, great, and thank’s for helping. If not, read about what we’re doing and realize that there are beekeepers just like us that are trying to do similar things in your area. Make an effort to find them, and help them.

Our goal is to have a couple hives every few city blocks in our area. We’ll do that by finding hosts for hives as well as teaching new beekeepers to keep their own hives. The impact this will have on local food production will be amazing.

Anyhow, thanks for taking the time to humor my bee addiction again, and like I said before, head on over to Apex Apiaries for more info.

PS: We got several hundred seeds started over the weekend and in the new grow rack. Soon as I get my pictures off my phone and onto the computer I’ll have a post for you on that!